Gyratory sensing system to enhance wearable device user experience via HMI extension

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems may provide for a gyratory sensing system (GSS) for extending the human machine interface (HMI) of an electronic device, particularly small form factor, wearable devices. The gyratory sensing system may include a gyratory sensor and a rotatable element to engage the gyratory sensor. The rotatable element may be sized and configured to be easily manipulated by hand to extend the HMI of the electronic device such that the functions of the HMI may be more accessible. The rotatable element may include one or more rotatable components, such as a body, edge or face of a smart watch, that each may be configured to perform a function upon rotation, such as resetting, selecting, and/or activating a menu item.

BACKGROUND

Smart devices including smart phones, mobile phones, tablet computers,and the like have become pervasive. Further, wearable devices, such assmartwatches, fitness bands and monitors, action cameras, and the like,have become increasingly popular. These wearable devices may ofteninclude a very small touchscreen to interact with the device. Users ofthese devices may need to accurately touch the correct user interface(UI) or icons, which are often spaced closely together, and/or swipe theinterface several times to search and launch an application. Further,some of these devices include no touchscreen or user interface at all.As a result, the user experience for these small wearable devices may bedegraded due to their confined Human Machine Interface (HMI). Some ofthe existing hardware and software solutions to sense user input mayinclude push buttons, voice controls and gesture controls. Thesesolutions, however, may suffer several disadvantages including limitedstates (i.e., ON and OFF states for hardware push buttons), complex andexpensive interfaces (i.e., gesture and voice sensing require complexand expensive computing power and sensors), and unfashionable appearance(e.g., protruding hardware is not integrated, stylish or compatible withwearable devices). Simply put, conventional small wearable devices, suchas smartwatches, having confined touchscreens and/or user interfaces maynot be optimally useful (i.e., inaccurate, less user-friendly,unintegrated, and incompatible) to the wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various advantages of the embodiments will become apparent to oneskilled in the art by reading the following specification and appendedclaims, and by referencing the following drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-B are illustrations of an example of a smartwatch having agyroscopic sensing system according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 1C-D are illustrations of an example of a smartwatch having agyroscopic sensing system with a rotating body according to anembodiment;

FIGS. 1E-F are illustrations of an example of a smartwatch having agyroscopic sensing system with a rotating edge according to anembodiment;

FIGS. 1G-H are illustrations of an example of a smartwatch having agyroscopic sensing system with a rotating face and edge according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a gyroscopic sensing systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of a gyroscopic sensing processaccording to an embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-D is an illustration of an example of a quick launch routine ofa gyroscopic sensing system according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 5A-B is an illustration of an example of a lock/unlock routine ofa gyroscopic sensing system according to an embodiment; and

FIGS. 6A-D is an illustration of an example of a multi-dimension accessroutine of a gyroscopic sensing system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A-B show side and top views, respectively, of a wearable device100 having a gyroscopic sensing system 110 in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. The wearable device 100 may be one or manydevices including, for example, a smartwatch, a fitness band or monitor,an action camera, and the like, that have relatively small or nographical user input (GUI), such as a touchscreen. The wearable device100 may include a rotatable device 110 having one or more rotatablecomponents, e.g., a rotatable edge component 112 (e.g., a watch bezel),a rotatable face component 114 (e.g., a watch crystal), and a rotatablebody component 116 (e.g., a watch body or case), that may be incommunication with and engage an embedded gyroscopic sensor 120. Thewearable device 100 may also include a strap or bracelet 130 that may beused to attach the wearable device 100 to a user, e.g., to the wrist ofa user. The rotatable device 110 and the associated rotatable components112, 114, 116 are capable of rotating separately (i.e., independently)around at least one axis of rotation, e.g., x-axis, y-axis, or z-axis.The gyroscopic sensor 120 may embody a single axis,micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) rate gyroscope chip that iscapable of sensing rotation on one of three axes of movement, e.g.,x-axis (pitch), y-axis (roll), and z-axis (yaw), depending on themounting arrangement. The gyroscopic sensor 120 may embody a relativelysmall size and low cost arrangement suitable for sensing motion in smallconsumer electronic devices, e.g., the wearable device 100. An exampleof a suitable gyroscopic sensor chip for use with the disclosure is thesingle axis (z) MEMS gyroscope model ISZ-2510 available from InvenSense®Inc. of San Jose, Calif. The illustrated rotatable device 110 and thegyroscopic sensor 120 form at least a portion of a gyroscopic sensingsystem that may extend a Human Machine Interface (HMI), e.g., atouchscreen, of a small wearable device, e.g., the wearable device 100,to be more useful (i.e., more accurate, user-friendly, integrated andcompatible).

In the illustrated example, the wearable device 100 includes illustratedcorresponding landmark lines 101 that align to define a reset (i.e.,rest or ready) position for the rotatable components 112, 114, 116. Itis noted that while the landmark lines 101 are illustrated by straightlines, this is for illustration purposes only. Other arrangements may beused to define the alignment of rotatable components 112, 114, 116including, for example, stops, bumps, and similar structures that bringthe rotatable components into alignment at the reset position. Thegyroscopic sensor 120 may be arranged to receive a user input via therotation of one or more of the rotatable components 112, 114, 116 of therotatable device 110, e.g., around the z-axis, to form an HMI thatextends the utility of the user interface (i.e., touchscreen) to includemore input states and allows the user interface to be faster, moreaccurate, and more reliable.

For example, a user may rotate one or more of the rotatable components112, 114, 116 in order to provide an input, e.g., to browse, selectand/or launch (i.e., activate), for an application associated with thewearable device 100. As will be discussed further below, the input maybe based on various factors including, for example, the degree ofrotation from the reset position, the direction of rotation, rotation toa corresponding function icon, a sequence of rotation(s), and the like.The rotary, more ergonomically friendly inputs enabled by the rotatabledevice 110 may thereby provide the wearable device 100 with greaterutility by allowing increased functionality and accuracy of inputcompared to a small user input (e.g., a touchscreen) having confined andlimited display space with an ever-increasing number of applications.Users may thereby provide more effective and reliable inputs.

Turning now to FIGS. 1C-D, side and top views, respectively, of awearable device 150 are shown in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. The wearable device 150 is similar to the wearable device100 (FIGS. 1A-B) and includes a gyroscopic sensing system having arotatable body 156 capable of rotating around a z-axis (e.g., in theclockwise direction (see arrow 157)) from the reset position (i.e., suchthat the landmark lines 151 are not in alignment) in order to browse,navigate, and/or launch applications associated with the wearable device150. FIGS. 1E-F show side and top views, respectively, of a wearabledevice 160 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Thewearable device 160 is similar to the wearable device 100 (FIGS. 1A-B)and includes a rotatable edge 162 capable of rotating around a z-axis(e.g., in the clockwise direction (see arrow 163)) from the resetposition (i.e., such that the landmark lines 161 are not in alignment)in order to browse, navigate, and/or launch applications associated withthe wearable device 160. FIGS. 1G-H show side and top views of awearable device 170 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.The wearable device is similar to wearable device 100 (FIGS. 1A-B) andincludes a rotatable edge 172 and a rotatable face 174 that are bothcapable of rotating around a z-axis (e.g., in the clockwise direction(see arrow 173) and in the counter-clockwise direction (see arrow 175),respectively) from the reset position (i.e., such that the landmarklines 171 are not in alignment) in order to browse, navigate, and/orlaunch applications associated with the wearable device 170.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an example of a gyroscopic sensing system 200 inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. The system 200may include a gyratory sensing system 210, a processor 220, and a memorydevice 230. The gyratory sensing system 210 may include a Human MachineInterface (HMI) 212 (having a rotatable device) and a gyratory sensor214 (both discussed more thoroughly above with respect to FIGS. 1A-H).The HMI 212 may be configured and arranged to receive an input from auser 205, e.g., a human, and communicate the input to the gyratorysensor 214. The gyratory sensor 214 may be in communication with theprocessor 230 (e.g., a system on chip (SoC) processor) and the memorydevice 230, and may sense the user input in a manner that extends theHMI 212 to be more useful. The system 200 may also include variousoptional components including, for example, a camera 240, display 250,and other peripheral device(s) 260.

In use, the gyratory sensing system 210 may receive an input from a user205 via a rotatable device of the HMI 212. The input(s) (correspondingto a user selection of system or application function, option, process,etc.) may be communicated, for example, by the user 205 rotating one ormore of the rotatable components of the rotatable device. The rotatabledevice may embody a rotatable device as discussed above with respect toFIGS. 1A-D. The gyratory sensor 214 may be in communication with the HMI212 to receive and sense the user input(s) based on, for example, thedegree of rotation of the one or more rotating components from a resetposition. The user input(s) may be communicated via a component of thesystem 200, e.g., the display 250. The user input(s) may also be used toadjust, alter, change, navigate, browse, and/or select, etc. thefunctions, options, processes, and the like of the camera 240, display250, or other peripheral device(s) 260. The gyratory sensing system 200may thereby provide the wearable device with greater utility by allowingimproved input functionality, ergonomics, reliability and accuracy. Asan example, due to the limited size and screen space that may be offeredby small wearable devices (e.g., wearable device 150), the gyratorysensing system 210 may, for example, allow more functions and/orapplications (which may be represented, for example, by icons)associated with the wearable device (e.g., wearable device 150) or anassociated peripheral device to be more quickly, reliably and accuratelybrowsed and selected when compared to other user interfaces. Further, inat least some embodiments, the ergonomics and tactile layout of the HMI212 may improve the speed, reliability, and accuracy of user inputs whencompared to other user interfaces.

In various embodiments, the gyratory sensing system 200 may allow thefunctionality of a wearable device (e.g., wearable device 150, 160 or170) to be improved by extending a utility of the HMI 212. In someembodiments, “extending a utility of the human machine interface” maymean providing the wearable device with greater utility by enablingimproved input functionality, ergonomics, reliability and accuracyconsistent with the disclosure herein. In at least some embodiments, theimproved input functionality may be accomplished via one or morerotatable components such as, for example, the rotatable components 112,114, 116 (FIGS. 1A-B), that enable functions of one or more applicationsassociated with the HMI 212 to be selected in a manner that quickly andaccurately launches the applications (as discussed more thoroughly belowwith respect to FIGS. 4A-D). For example, the rotatable components mayallow a user to quickly and accurately zoom in and out of one or morefunctions associated with the HMI such that the functionality,ergonomics, reliability or accuracy of the user input may be improved.In at least some embodiments, the improved input functionality may beaccomplished via one or more rotatable components such as, for example,the rotatable components 112, 114, 116 (FIGS. 1A-B) that allow awearable device and/or one or more applications associated with thewearable device to be quickly and accurately locked and/or unlocked (asdiscussed more thoroughly below with respect to FIGS. 5A-D). In at leastsome embodiments, the improved input functionality may be accomplishedvia one or more rotatable components such as, for example, the rotatablecomponents 112, 114, 116 (FIGS. 1A-B), that allow the one or moreapplications associated with the HMI 212 to be quickly and accuratelyaccessed in a manner that enables multi-dimensional access to theapplications (as discussed more thoroughly below with respect to FIGS.6A-D). In some embodiments, the various improvements disclosed hereinmay be combined in various different arrangements not explicitlydisclosed herein without departing from the disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a gyroscopic sensing process in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure. The process 300 may be implementedas one or more modules in executable software as a set of logicinstructions stored in a machine- or computer-readable storage medium ofa memory such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), firmware, flash memory, etc., in configurablelogic such as, for example, programmable logic arrays (PLAs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices(CPLDs), in fixed-functionality logic hardware using circuit technologysuch as, for example, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC),complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or transistor-transistorlogic (TTL) technology, or any combination thereof.

Illustrated processing block 302 provides for remaining in a “Standby”(i.e., reset, rest, or ready) state. At block 304 a determination may bemade as to whether one or more rotatable component(s) of the rotatabledevice has been rotated greater than a predetermined number of degrees(e.g., x degrees or x°). If “No”, the process 300 returns to block 302and remains in a “Standby” state. If “Yes”, the process 300 proceeds toblock 306 in which the gyratory sensor is triggered and interrupts aprocessor (i.e., an SoC) for a state change (e.g., update of the userinterface (touchscreen or GUI) based on the input). At block 308, asoftware interrupt-routine is invoked, and the new event is executed.Once complete, the illustrated process 300 returns to block 302. Anexample of suitable pseudo-code for executing the process 300 isprovided, as follows:

Pseudo-code 1) Standby 2) Detects rotation  •  (clockwise = positive,counter-clockwise = negative) 3) Rotation detected above threshold,vibrates the wearable device 4) If rotation value = +x 5) Set action_1 =action_1 + x 6) Else, if rotation value = −y 7) Set action_1 = action_1− y 8) Update GUI's menu

FIGS. 4A-D show an illustration of an example of a quick launch routine400 for a wearable device in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure. The quick launch routine 400 of a wearable device 401,consistent with the disclosure herein, may define a pre-determined listand operation of quick launch icons 404 to launch an application. Thequick launch routine 400 may begin at (A) by engaging (i.e., rotating) arotating component 402, e.g., a watch face, in a direction (e.g.,counter-clockwise (see arrow 403)) around a z-axis. Rotating therotating component 402 (e.g., beyond a predetermined degree or to apredetermined location) awakes the system by triggering a gyratorysensor (not shown) and interrupts the processor (e.g., SoC) for a statechange. Once awake, the system may show a list of shortcut icons toquick launch an application. At (B) the system presents variousapplication quick launch (i.e., shortcut) icons 404 for browsing andselection by the user in order to quick launch an application. The totalnumber of items or applications to be listed may be customized by theuser (e.g., by software). User selection may be made by rotating therotating component 402, for example, in an opposite direction (e.g.,clockwise direction (see arrow 405)). At (C) the illustrated systemmagnifies the selected application quick launch icon 406 (i.e., aphonebook) for easier and more reliable activation (i.e., launch) by,for example, being touched by a user and/or after a pre-determinedperiod of time (e.g., after 2 seconds). At (D) the various individualentries 409 of the selected application 408 (i.e., phonebook) may bebrowsed via the rotatable component 402, and the selected individualentry 410 may be magnified and launched by the passage of time or bytouch. The illustrated quick launch routine 400 may thereby provide aquick, accurate and reliable means for extending the utility of an HMI.

FIGS. 5A-B show an illustration of an example of a lock/unlock routine500 of a gyroscopic sensing system in accordance with an embodiment ofthe disclosure. The lock/unlock routine 500 (i.e., unlock routine) of awearable device 501, consistent with the disclosure herein, may define apre-determined sequence of rotating one or more of rotatable components502, 504 of the wearable device 501. The unlock routine 500 may begin at(A) by engaging (i.e., rotating) a first rotating component 502 (e.g., awatch face) in a first direction (e.g., a counter-clockwise direction(see arrow 503)) a pre-determined distance or degree (e.g., 30 degreesor 30°) around a z-axis, and then rotating a second rotating component504 (e.g., a watch edge) in a second direction (e.g., a clockwisedirection (see arrow 505)) a predetermined distance or degree (e.g., 60degrees or 60°) around the z-axis. Upon completion of the lock/unlockroutine 500 the wearable device may quickly and reliably be transformedfrom a locked state 506 to an unlocked state 508. It is noted that thewearable device 501 may similarly be locked by performing a comparableoperation, i.e., lock routine. The lock/unlock routine 500 may therebyprovide another quick, accurate and reliable means for extending theutility of an HMI.

FIGS. 6A-D show an illustration of an example of a multi-dimensionaccess routine 600 of a gyroscopic sensing system according to anembodiment of the disclosure. The multi-dimension access routine 600 ofa wearable device 601, consistent with the disclosure herein, may definea pre-determined operation of a multi-dimension application interface.The multi-dimension access routine 600 may begin at by engaging (i.e.,rotating) a first rotating component 602 (e.g., a watch body) in a firstdirection (e.g., a clockwise direction (see arrow 603)) a pre-determineddistance or degree around the z-axis in order to activate (i.e., awake)the user interface (i.e., touchscreen or GUI). At (B) variousapplication icons 604 may be presented on the user interface forselection by a user. The first rotating component 602 may be furtherrotated in a clockwise direction, for example, in order to navigate thevarious application icons 604. At (C) the selected application icon 606(e.g., a phonebook) may be magnified and a second rotatable component608 (e.g., a watch edge) may be rotated, for example, in a clockwisedirection in order to launch or “step into” the details 610 of theselected application 606 (i.e., search the contacts of the phonebook).At (D) the selected detail 612 (i.e., contact) may be magnified foreasier launch via touch by the user or passage of a pre-determine periodof time (e.g., 2 seconds). Other features may also be launched via therotatable components 602, 608. For example, once the call has beenlaunched a loudspeaker may be activated, for example, by rotating thefirst rotatable component 608 (i.e., the watch body) in a clockwisedirection (see arrow 613). The call may be ended, for example, byrotating the second rotating component (i.e., the watch edge) in aclockwise direction (see arrow 615). The multi-dimension access routine600 may thereby provide another quick, accurate and reliable means forextending the utility of an HMI.

An example of suitable pseudo-code for executing the routines disclosedherein is provided, as follows:

Pseudo Code 1) Standby 2) Detects rotation 1)  (clockwise = positive,counter-clockwise = negative) 3) Rotation detected above threshold,vibrates the wearable device 4) If rotation is from face's rotation,then 1)  If rotation value = +x 2)  Set action_1 = action_1 + x 3)  Elseif rotation value = −y 4)  Set action_1 = action_1 − y 5)  Update GUI'smenu 5) Else, if rotation is from edge's rotation, then 1)  If rotationvalue = +x 2)  Set action_2 = action_2 + x 3)  Else if rotation value =−y 4)  Set action_2 = action_2 − y 5)  Update GUI's menu 6) Else, ifrotation is from body's rotation, then 1)  If rotation value = +x 2) Set action_3 = action_3 + x 3)  Else if rotation value = −y 4)  Setaction_3 = action_3 − y 5)  Update GUI's menu

Additional Notes and Examples

Example 1 may include a gyratory sensing system having a memory device,a processor in communication with the memory device, and a gyratorysensing system in communication with the processor. The gyratory sensingsystem may include a human machine interface to receive a user input,and a gyratory sensor to sense the user input in a manner that extends autility of the human machine interface.

Example 2 may include the system of Example 1, wherein the human machineinterface includes a rotatable device having one or more rotatablecomponents to navigate and engage one or more functions associated withthe human machine interface.

Example 3 may include the system of Example 2, wherein the one or morerotatable components are capable of rotating independently.

Example 4 may include the system of Example 2 or Example 3, wherein theone or more rotatable components include a body component, an edgecomponent and a face component.

Example 5 may include the system of Example 1, wherein the gyratorysensor is a single axis sensor to sense rotation on one of three axes ofmovement.

Example 6 may include the system of Example 5, wherein the gyratorysensor is a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) rate gyroscope.

Example 7 may include the system of Example 1, wherein the processor isa system on chip (SoC) processor.

Example 8 may include a wearable gyratory sensing apparatus having amemory device in communication with a processor, and a gyratory sensingsystem to communicate with the processor. The gyratory sensing systemmay include a human machine interface to receive a user input, whereinthe human machine interface forms at least a part of a wearable device,and a gyratory sensor to sense the user input in a manner that extends autility of the human machine interface to make one or more functions ofthe wearable device more accessible.

Example 9 may include the apparatus of Example 8, wherein the humanmachine interface includes a rotatable device having one or morerotatable components to navigate and engage the one or more functions.

Example 10 may include the apparatus of Example 9, wherein the one ormore functions are to be identified via one or more icons.

Example 11 may include the apparatus of Example 9 or Example 10, whereinthe one or more icons are to select or adjust one or more functionsassociated with the wearable device.

Example 12 may include the apparatus of Example 10, wherein the one ormore icons are to select or adjust one or more functions associated witha device other than the wearable device.

Example 13 may include the apparatus of Example 10, wherein therotatable components are to zoom in and out of the one or more functionsin order to improve one or more of the functionality, ergonomics,reliability or accuracy of the user input.

Example 14 may include the apparatus of Example 8, wherein the gyratorysensor senses a distance or degree of rotation of the human machineinterface to detect a change in the state of the gyratory sensingsystem.

Example 15 may include a gyratory sensing method including receiving,via a human machine interface, a user input; and sensing, via a gyratorysensor, the user input in a manner that extends a utility of the humanmachine interface. Receiving the user input may be performed via a humanmachine interface, and sensing the user input may be performed viagyratory sensor.

Example 16 may include the method of Example 15, further includingengaging, via one or more rotatable components of a rotatable device ofthe human machine interface, one or more functions associated with thehuman machine interface.

Example 17 may include the method of Example 16, wherein the one or morerotatable components are capable of rotating independently.

Example 18 may include the method of Example 16 or Example 17, whereinthe one or more rotatable components include a body component, an edgecomponent and a face component.

Example 19 may include the method of Example 15, wherein the gyratorysensor is a single axis sensor to sense rotation on one of three axes ofmovement.

Example 20 may include the method of Example 19, wherein the gyratorysensor is a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) rate gyroscope.

Example 21 may include at least one computer readable storage mediumhaving a set of instructions which, when executed by a computing device,cause the computing device to receive, via a human machine interface, auser input; and sense, via a gyratory sensor, the user input in a mannerthat extends a utility of the human machine interface. The user inputmay be received via a human machine interface. The user input may besensed via gyratory sensor.

Example 22 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof Example 21, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause acomputing device to engage, via one or more rotatable components of arotatable device of the human machine interface, one or more functionsassociated with the human machine interface.

Example 23 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof Example 22, wherein the one or more rotatable components are capableof rotating independently.

Example 24 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof Example 22 or Example 23, wherein the one or more rotatablecomponents include a body component, an edge component and a facecomponent.

Example 25 may include the at least one computer readable storage mediumof Example 21, wherein the gyratory sensor is a single axis sensor tosense rotation on one of three axes of movement.

Example 26 may include a gyratory sensing apparatus having means forreceiving a user input, and means for sensing the user input in a mannerthat extends a utility of the human machine interface.

Example 27 may include the apparatus of Example 26, further includingmeans for engaging one or more functions associated with the humanmachine interface.

Example 28 may include the apparatus of Example 27, wherein the meansfor engaging one or more functions associated with the human machineinterface are capable of operating independently.

Example 29 may include the apparatus of Example 27 or Example 28,wherein the means for engaging one or more functions associated with thehuman machine interface may include a body component, an edge componentand a face component.

Example 30 may include the apparatus of Example 26, wherein the meansfor sensing may include a single axis sensor to sense rotation on one ofthree axes of movement.

Example 31 may include the apparatus of Example 30, wherein the meansfor sensing may include a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) rategyroscope.

As would be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art, thespecific arrangements disclosed herein may be arranged and/or rearrangedin various combinations to include one or more rotatable component(s)which may or may not have been discussed specifically herein withoutdeparting from the disclosure. For example, particular embodiments mayinclude arrangements that have a rotatable body, a rotatable edge, and arotatable face. Further, the direction of rotation of the rotatablecomponents is not intended to be limiting and may be reversed and/orrearranged without departing from the disclosure. Further still, variousembodiments may utilize a rotation to a specific angle which may befurther facilitated by the use of various stops, bumps, vibrations,haptic, sound, mechanical notches, and other arrangements that providefeedback in order to indicate the specific angle. Such embodiments maybe particularly useful for user having impaired vision and/or impairedsensitivity to touch. In addition, while embodiments disclosed hereinhave been shown with respect to wearable device having a substantiallyround shape, other shapes may be used. For example, a rectangularsmartwatch design may be used. In such use, once a rotatable component,e.g., a watch body or edge has been rotated during text input, forexample, the keyboard orientation may be switched to a landscapeorientation in order to take advantage of (i.e., match) the devicedesign and improve the user experience.

Various embodiments may be implemented using hardware elements, softwareelements, or a combination of both. Examples of hardware elements mayinclude processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g.,transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, and so forth), integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmablelogic devices (PLD), digital signal processors (DSP), field programmablegate array (FPGA), logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips,microchips, chip sets, and so forth. Examples of software may includesoftware components, programs, applications, computer programs,application programs, system programs, machine programs, operatingsystem software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines,subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces,application program interfaces (API), instruction sets, computing code,computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values,symbols, or any combination thereof. Determining whether an embodimentis implemented using hardware elements and/or software elements may varyin accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computationalrate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input datarates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and otherdesign or performance constraints.

One or more aspects of at least one embodiment may be implemented byrepresentative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium whichrepresents various logic within the processor, which when read by amachine causes the machine to fabricate logic to perform the techniquesdescribed herein. Such representations, known as “IP cores” may bestored on a tangible, machine readable medium and supplied to variouscustomers or manufacturing facilities to load into the fabricationmachines that actually make the logic or processor.

Embodiments are applicable for use with all types of semiconductorintegrated circuit (“IC”) chips. Examples of these IC chips include butare not limited to processors, controllers, chipset components,programmable logic arrays (PLAs), memory chips, network chips, and thelike. In addition, in some of the drawings, signal conductor lines arerepresented with lines. Some may be different, to indicate moreconstituent signal paths, have a number label, to indicate a number ofconstituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or more ends, toindicate primary information flow direction. This, however, should notbe construed in a limiting manner. Rather, such added detail may be usedin connection with one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitateeasier understanding of a circuit. Any represented signal lines, whetheror not having additional information, may actually comprise one or moresignals that may travel in multiple directions and may be implementedwith any suitable type of signal scheme, e.g., digital or analog linesimplemented with differential pairs, optical fiber lines, and/orsingle-ended lines.

Example sizes/models/values/ranges may have been given, althoughembodiments are not limited to the same. As manufacturing techniques(e.g., photolithography) mature over time, it is expected that devicesof smaller size could be manufactured. In addition, well knownpower/ground connections to IC chips and other components may or may notbe shown within the figures, for simplicity of illustration anddiscussion, and so as not to obscure certain aspects of the embodiments.Further, arrangements may be shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring embodiments, and also in view of the fact that specificswith respect to implementation of such block diagram arrangements arehighly dependent upon the platform within which the embodiment is to beimplemented, i.e., such specifics should be well within purview of oneskilled in the art. Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are setforth in order to describe example embodiments, it should be apparent toone skilled in the art that embodiments can be practiced without, orwith variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to beregarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

Some embodiments may be implemented, for example, using a machine ortangible computer-readable medium or article which may store aninstruction or a set of instructions that, if executed by a machine, maycause the machine to perform a method and/or operations in accordancewith the embodiments. Such a machine may include, for example, anysuitable processing platform, computing platform, computing device,processing device, computing system, processing system, computer,processor, or the like, and may be implemented using any suitablecombination of hardware and/or software. The machine-readable medium orarticle may include, for example, any suitable type of memory unit,memory device, memory article, memory medium, storage device, storagearticle, storage medium and/or storage unit, for example, memory,removable or non-removable media, erasable or non-erasable media,writeable or re-writeable media, digital or analog media, hard disk,floppy disk, Compact Disk Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact DiskRecordable (CD-R), Compact Disk Rewriteable (CD-RW), optical disk,magnetic media, magneto-optical media, removable memory cards or disks,various types of Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a tape, a cassette, orthe like. The instructions may include any suitable type of code, suchas source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, staticcode, dynamic code, encrypted code, and the like, implemented using anysuitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/orinterpreted programming language.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or thelike, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computingsystem, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and/ortransforms data represented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic)within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities within the computingsystem's memories, registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

The term “coupled” may be used herein to refer to any type ofrelationship, direct or indirect, between the components in question,and may apply to electrical, mechanical, fluid, optical,electromagnetic, electromechanical or other connections. In addition,the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein only to facilitatediscussion, and carry no particular temporal or chronologicalsignificance unless otherwise indicated.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing descriptionthat the broad techniques of the embodiments can be implemented in avariety of forms. Therefore, while the embodiments of this have beendescribed in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scopeof the embodiments should not be so limited since other modificationswill become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of thedrawings, specification, and following claims.

We claim:
 1. A wearable apparatus comprising: a memory device incommunication with a processor; and a gyratory sensing system tocommunicate with the processor, the gyratory sensing system including: ahuman machine interface to receive a user input, wherein the humanmachine interface forms at least a part of a wearable device, andwherein the human machine interface includes a rotatable device havingone or more rotatable components to navigate and engage the one or morefunctions, and a gyratory sensor to sense the user input in a mannerthat extends a utility of the human machine interface to make one ormore functions of the wearable device more accessible.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the one or more functions are to be identified viaone or more icons.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or moreicons are to select or adjust one or more functions associated with thewearable device.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the one or moreicons are to select or adjust one or more functions associated with adevice other than the wearable device.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the rotatable components are to zoom in and out of the one ormore functions in order to improve one or more of the functionality,ergonomics, reliability or accuracy of the user input.
 6. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the gyratory sensor is to sense a distance or degreeof rotation of the human machine interface to detect a change in thestate of the gyratory sensing system.
 7. A method comprising: receiving,via a human machine interface, a user input; and sensing, via a gyratorysensor, the user input in a manner that extends a utility of the humanmachine interface; and navigating and engaging, via one or morerotatable components of a rotatable device of the human machineinterface, one or more functions associated with the human machineinterface.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more rotatablecomponents are capable of rotating independently.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein the one or more rotatable components include a bodycomponent, an edge component and a face component.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the gyratory sensor is a single axis sensor to senserotation on one of three axes of movement.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the gyratory sensor is a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)rate gyroscope.
 12. A system comprising: a memory device; a processor incommunication with the memory device; and a gyratory sensing system incommunication with the processor, the gyratory sensing system including:a human machine interface to receive a user input, wherein the humanmachine interface includes a rotatable device having one or morerotatable components to navigate and engage one or more functionsassociated with the human machine interface, and a gyratory sensor tosense the user input in a manner that extends a utility of the humanmachine interface.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or morerotatable components are capable of rotating independently.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the one or more rotatable components includea body component, an edge component and a face component.
 15. The systemof claim 1, wherein the gyratory sensor is a single axis sensor to senserotation on one of three axes of movement.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the gyratory sensor is a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)rate gyroscope.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is asystem on chip (SoC) processor.